


Shared burdens

by BHP



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 16:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18347360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BHP/pseuds/BHP
Summary: When Magnum and Higgins are ‘yacht-jacked’, Detective Katsumoto admits to Rick and TC that Magnum and Higgins are his friends. But how did that happen, when most of the time, Magnum does nothing but irritate the Detective? This is a post-episode tag for episode 18 of season 1, ‘A kiss before dying’.





	Shared burdens

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on FFNet.

Shared burdens  
by BHP

 

The sun was hot in the achingly blue sky, but Magnum barely felt the heat. He dug his oar a little harder into the ocean, striking through the waves on a heading back to the beach at Robin’s Nest. He felt the burn in his shoulders and smiled. What good was a workout if you didn’t feel it?

At least the paddle had brought him some clarity. After Detective Katsumoto had left yesterday, Magnum had spent the better part of the afternoon contemplating the gift the other man had left with him. Detective Stanley Tak’s shield.

All joking aside, Magnum never intended to remove the shield from the display case. That would be wrong, disrespectful. Almost a sacrilege. Just as removing his father’s folded flag from its memorial box would be a sacrilege.

He’d never known the man, but Tak had helped to mould Katsumoto into the man Thomas knew today. For that alone, the detective deserved every ounce of respect Magnum could pay him. Just as Detective Katsumoto deserved his respect, for the person he was, the position he held, and whatever experiences had formed him. Even if Magnum did spend a lot of time finding ways around the detective’s rules.

Just because he couldn’t see the marks of Katsumoto’s experiences didn’t mean that the man didn’t have scars of his own. After all, it’s not like most of Magnum’s own scars were visible to the average person that he met in the course of his work. So why on earth would anyone else’s scars have to be visible?

Working homicides, kidnappings and every other type of vicious crime had to leave marks. The fact that Katsumoto laughed as easily as he did, in spite of everything he had to have witnessed, just meant that the man was clearly much stronger than he seemed. Strong enough that Magnum was worried about him. Maybe they weren’t really friends yet, but they’d made some progress in that direction.

So that progress had Magnum worried enough that he’d done a little quiet digging into Detective Katsumoto’s life. Nothing deep or invasive. It was simply astounding, the things, the details, and the personal assumptions, that people would tell you if you just looked like you belonged and asked nicely. He’d learned that Katsumoto was a loner. Sure, he had friends, and a wide circle of acquaintances. A relatively stable life. A decent relationship with his ex-wife and his son. A nice house. A job that he was extremely good at, even if he occasionally strayed quite close to the line in the interests of serving justice. But what Magnum had failed to find was a brother – not necessarily a blood relative, but Katsumoto’s Rick, TC or Nuzo.

And maybe not everyone needed what his friends offered him. He doubted Katsumoto woke up screaming at night, or dreamed of being in the Hole, or felt again wounds that were long healed. He doubted it, but he couldn’t be sure. Detective Tak had saved Katsumoto from being stabbed once. Who knew what other horrors lurked behind those dark, often inscrutable, eyes?

That uncertainty had driven Magnum into the water this morning, forcing him onwards until he’d managed to tame his thoughts enough to come up with a plan of action. Now all that remained was to implement it. Which meant that the only thing he still needed was a minor act of God, because getting Katsumoto to take him seriously was always going to be massively difficult. Hell, the man had barely taken him seriously when he and Higgins reported finding a body – until he’d actually been standing over the bones. And until he’d realised who the victim was.

Which took him right back to where he was now, dragging the canoe up the beach and plotting his next move.

He passed Higgins on the way back to the guest house, admiring how she could twist herself into yoga poses that beggared belief. How exactly did she manage to get into those positions? Even when he’d still been in the service, at the peak of his fitness, he’d never had that sort of flexibility. After Afghanistan, he never would.

The Dobermans lay nearby, ears pricked, quiet growls marking his passing.

“Quiet, lads.” Higgins didn’t open her eyes.  
“What if it wasn’t me here, Higgins?” Magnum couldn’t resist the urge to ask. He was responsible for security on the estate, and despite what Higgins might think, he did really take the job very seriously.  
“Who else would it be, Magnum?” Higgins sounded amused.  
“I don’t know.” Magnum’s grin bled through into his words. “Burglars, kidnappers, your ex-colleagues, or mine?”  
“In broad daylight?” Disbelief coloured the answer.  
“You never know.”  
“Quite.” Higgins opened her eyes to glare at him, the stare softened by her smile. “But not really likely. Besides, they’d never get past the lads.”  
Magnum cast a glance at the dogs, who watched him with unblinking eyes, and admitted privately that she might just have a point there.  
“I do.” Magnum stated. “And they don’t like me.”  
“Indeed.” Higgins laughed. “But there’s a difference between not liking you, and not liking anyone else who sets foot on the estate. Believe me, they know the difference.”

As if to make the same point, both dogs stared at Magnum for another moment, then laid their heads back down on their paws and closed their eyes. Higgins smiled, closed her eyes and went back to twisting herself into a pretzel. Magnum laughed and headed towards the guest house, hearing Higgins’s quiet words behind him.  
“Good lads.”

Two hours later, Magnum parked the Ferrari just down the block from the HPD offices, hooked his sunglasses onto the front of his t-shirt and headed into the building. He’d hoped to get to the precinct sooner, but his other errand had taken longer than he’d planned. Still, it was done now, so the delay had been worthwhile.

He nodded greetings to a handful of people, before stepping into the squad room and stopping just inside the doorway. He had a clear view of Katsumoto’s desk, and shook his head in amazement. In spite of only having one fully-functional hand, the detective had still managed to work his way through piles of paperwork, if the collection of closed files on the corner of his desk was anything to go by.

And the air of concentration hanging over the desk made it clear that another file was about to join the growing pile of completed files. A prickle across the back of his neck had his pulse spiking, sure that he was being watched, although he kept his posture relaxed. But that was all the warning Magnum got before a quiet voice spoke just behind him.

“Why are you here?” Magnum recognised the voice of Lieutenant Akana. Katsumoto’s boss, so definitely not a man to antagonise. Or not more than he already did by breathing in the same ZIP code. He turned slightly, just enough to meet the older man’s eyes.  
“I just wanted to take Katsumoto to lunch.”  
“I almost believe you.” Akana sounded sceptical.  
“I’m hurt, Lieutenant.” Magnum sighed. “I mean it. Honestly.”  
Akana snorted quietly.  
“Just … don’t get him into any trouble, okay?” Akana looked across the room and shook his head. “And do me a favour. Don’t bring him back today.”  
“I can do that.” Magnum’s curiosity laced the answer and the other man shrugged slightly.  
“I can’t order him to grieve. But I can give him the chance and the space.”

Magnum stared at Katsumoto, then looked back at Akana. His opinion of Katsumoto’s boss climbed a few notches, understanding now that the man’s attempts to keep Katsumoto from the case had not only been for the sake of procedure. Apparently, Akana had got to be the boss by being very good at his job, and very good at understanding his people.

“Understood.” Respect laced the statement, and Magnum knew that for this one moment in time, he and Lieutenant Akana had reached a détente. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t last, but he’d take the good times while he could.

He weaved his way towards Katsumoto’s desk, hitching a hip onto the desktop as soon as he reached it. Katsumoto pulled on the piece of paper now trapped under Magnum’s leg and sighed heavily.

“Go away, Magnum.”  
“Nope.”  
“I’m not helping you today. Or ever again, if I can manage it.” The words sounded sharp, but Magnum caught a note of challenge hidden in the depths.  
“You wound me, Katsumoto.” Magnum laid a hand over his heart. “After all I’ve done for you.”  
“You mean all I’ve done for you.” The detective sniped back, doing his best to stifle the smile that was creeping onto his face.  
“We can agree to disagree.” Magnum laughed. “But I really am here to do something for you.”  
“Should I be afraid?” Wariness filled the question.  
“Come on. Who’s afraid of lunch?”  
“You’re offering me lunch?”  
“I am.” Magnum confirmed.  
“From Kamekona’s shrimp truck?”  
“At an actual restaurant.”  
“And I’ll get stuck with the check?” The words sounded sharp, but there was an undercurrent of humour now.  
“I’m insulted.” Magnum shook his head in mock despair. “I’ll even show you my wallet, if you don’t believe me.”  
“Okay, okay.” Katsumoto finally gave in and laughed out loud. “Just let me clear it with my boss.”

Magnum wandered back to the corridor leading from the squad room while Katsumoto had a quick chat with Lieutenant Akana, then detoured back to his desk to collect his jacket from the back of his chair. Katsumoto said nothing during the walk to the car, but sighed heavily once he’d settled into the seat, settling his right hand on his left to cushion it.

“How’s the hand?” Magnum’s interest was sincere, knowing how much he hated it himself, waiting for broken bones to knit.  
“Better.” Katsumoto muttered, then shook his head ruefully. “It aches, all the time. But as the doctor pointed out to me this morning, I have no one to blame but myself.”  
“That’s just mean.” Magnum smiled, amused. “Kicking a man when he’s down. You need a new doctor.”  
“No, thanks. At least this one was willing to sign off on me working, even if it is only paperwork.”  
The slight flinch of the detective’s eyes caught Magnum’s attention. So that’s how things were. Well, he’d done some dumb things in his time to avoid thinking about circumstances and events he couldn’t control and didn’t like. This was not new territory at all.  
“But now you’ve been so efficient at the paperwork that your boss told me to keep you out all afternoon.”  
“Damn.” Katsumoto sounded truly annoyed. Then the chuckle slipped out. “He told you that too.”  
“He did. Said you were making the rest of the department feel bad about their own paperwork being unfinished.” Magnum lied with a straight face, determined to keep the real reason from the detective. Knowing that his boss had seen through his attempts to solider on as usual wouldn’t make the man feel any better, so why make him hurt worse than he already was?

Katsumoto lapsed into silence then. Magnum concentrated on driving, although he found himself comparing this trip to the one he’d made earlier in the week with Katsumoto, when he’d driven the detective to the hospital to have his broken hand treated. The other man hadn’t spoken then either. Magnum had to admire that strength, whether it was natural or learned from life’s hard lessons. Broken bones were no laughing matter, and few people could keep all that pain bottled up.

A few minutes later, Magnum slid the car into a parking space and waved a hand at the restaurant a few feet further down the block. The sign over the door said it all, and he could see the moment Katsumoto realised that this was something more than a simple lunch.

Zippy’s.

Magnum waited, hoping that Katsumoto was willing to follow his lead on this. But if the other man truly didn’t want to be here, he would never force the issue. The detective stood for a long moment, just looking at the sign, emotions playing across his face too fast for Magnum to pin them all down: anger, sadness, nostalgia, amusement, as well as something more and deeper. So, for all the sadness of the moment, there was happiness here as well. Then Katsumoto smiled and nodded his head towards the door.

The two men settled into a corner booth, after considering all the other options and passing them up.  
“We’ve got a lot in common, Katsumoto.” Magnum couldn’t contain the laughter. Katsumoto raised an eyebrow in response.  
“We’re both looking to sit with a wall behind us, and a view of everyone coming and going. You sure you’ve never been in the military?”  
Katsumoto looked nonplussed, then laughed as well.  
“No. But it’s just as easy to get stabbed in the back in civilian life.”  
“Unless you have someone like Stanley Tak watching your back.” Magnum mused.  
Katsumoto’s gaze slipped away, then he steeled himself to look Magnum in the eye.  
“Yes. Unless you’re that lucky.”  
Katsumoto stared at Magnum then, a considering stare. “I really hope that you’ve got someone watching your back, Magnum. You need it way more than I do.”  
”What’s that supposed to mean?” Magnum laughed. “I’m a really nice guy.”  
“With a really long list of enemies.” Katsumoto shrugged. “Or do I need to remind you about the whole fiasco at the H-3 tunnel, and you in the hospital with a bullet wound?”  
“Fair enough.” Magnum’s shrug matched Katsumoto’s. “The answer to your question is yes. I have Rick and TC.” It hurt not to add Nuzo’s name to that list. “And Higgins.”  
“That should do it.” Katsumoto nodded. “At least, I hope so. You do seem to be able to attract trouble.”  
“Honestly, I don’t do it on purpose.” Sincerity filled Magnum’s words.  
“I suppose not.” Katsumoto had to agree. “No-one would go looking for everything that you’ve managed to run into. I know Detective Tanaka was thrilled not to have to deal with you anymore.”  
“That stings.” Magnum was amused. “I was considering putting him on my Christmas card list this year.”  
The laughter that comment brought on ended all serious conversation, and the two men settled in for a quiet lunch.

By mid-afternoon, the Ferrari was clinging to the road as Magnum poured on the speed. He’d considered taking Katsumoto home, but from what he knew of the man, that would just give him the opportunity to find more work to finish up. So that left no option other than the estate. He knew Higgins would never mind the detective visiting. He remembered how at home the man had looked on the day Rick and TC had brought him home from the hospital, helping Higgins lay out a lunch on the lawns. Clearly Higgins and Katsumoto had an understanding between them, and he was willing to bet good money that Higgins had extended an open invitation to Katsumoto.

The exasperated sigh from the passenger seat made him laugh, as did the comment.  
“Magnum, you do remember that I’m with the HPD? And that seventy is not the speed limit?”  
“Come on, Katsumoto. Live a little.” Magnum’s grin was that of a little boy, enthusiastically playing with a favoured toy.  
“We’re not trying to catch a felon.”  
“Nope.” Magnum agreed. “But I’ll make you an offer, Detective. You ignore the speed right now, and when your hand is healed, I’ll let you drive.”  
“This car? This road?” Katsumoto queried, tone faintly stunned.  
“Yes. And yes.” Magnum knew just how addictive the car could be. He could see how hard Katsumoto was fighting his enjoyment of it even now, the wind rushing past, and the sense of freedom the speed offered.  
“You’re serious.” Katsumoto realised.  
“Always.” No hint of humour leached into the word now.

Katsumoto sat silent for a moment, and Magnum could almost hear the cogs turning in the man’s brain. And he could sense when the decision was made.  
“I’m still not going to make your speeding fines disappear.”  
“Did I ask you to?”  
“No.” Katsumoto admitted, grinning. “But you were planning to, at some point.”  
“Busted.”  
Shared laughter filled the air as the car accelerated even more, flashing down the road to Robin’s Nest.

Soon enough, both men had settled on the lanai outside the guest house, beers in hand as they stared out over the sea. Higgins had simply waved a greeting to them both when they had arrived, confirming Magnum’s thoughts that she had an understanding with the detective. Clouds were rolling in over the waves, suggesting one of the island’s brief afternoon showers would make an appearance in the next half hour.

“It’s soothing, isn’t it?” Magnum stared into the distance, trying to watch Katsumoto without being obvious about it.  
“What?”  
“The sea.” Magnum pointed in that general direction with the bottle he was holding. “I know it’s dangerous, too, but it’s peaceful. The danger’s not personal, you know?”  
Katsumoto sipped his beer and nodded.  
“I do know.” He glanced at Magnum quickly. “Any attack wouldn’t be intentional.”  
“Not like the guy we caught last week.” Magnum shook his head. “It’s bad enough he killed Vanessa. That might actually have been an accident, like he said.”  
“I really think it was.” Katsumoto agreed.  
“But everything he did after that – well, he meant that. He planned it. He intended it.” Magnum was choosing his words carefully now, determined to help Katsumoto, rather than hurt him.  
“I really don’t get that. I mean, I know that I’ve done things that would probably be considered … questionable … in civilian life, but it was the mission, you know?”  
Katsumoto turned to face him then, dark eyes seeming to see through him. Magnum felt uncomfortably exposed, but held still for the searching look.  
“Maybe you have. But justice can be quite demanding.” Katsumoto pondered. “Still, there’s a line you won’t cross.”  
“You sound very sure.”  
“I am.” The tone was even. “I’ve done a background check on you, you know.”  
“I’m shocked.” Laughter filled the words, but Magnum admitted, “I’d have done the same.”  
“After what Detective Tanaka told me, I figured I’d better know everything I could about you. There’s actually not that much to find.”  
“Military security.” Magnum’s comment was nonchalant.  
“True. And it’s not like I needed deep background.” Katsumoto nodded. “Although it did send me off on another tangent completely.”  
“It did?”  
“Yes. You’re not the only ex-SEAL the HPD has to contend with, you know.”  
“You mean McGarrett?”  
“I do.” Katsumoto shook his head. “He’s even worse than you.”  
“Thanks. I think.” Magnum sipped his beer. “So what was this tangent you mentioned?”  
“SEAL training.”  
“I’m not following.”  
“I looked up SEAL training. I had to know whether it’s the training that makes you all so hard to deal with, or whether they just hunt for naturally annoying, borderline insane, people and drag them into the training.”  
Magnum stared for a moment, then burst out laughing, the sound completely free and uninhibited.  
“And what did you decide?” The question was breathless, and Magnum was still chuckling.  
“The jury’s still out.” A snort of laughter accompanied the statement. “But I don’t think you’re borderline insane, if that’s any consolation.”  
“I’m flattered.”  
“Now, McGarrett, on the other hand …”  
Both men snickered quietly.

Heavy raindrops began to splatter on the lawn, and Magnum rose and went to the edge of the lanai, holding one hand out into the rain. The drops splashed onto his hand, running off in a gentle waterfall.  
“You love the water.” The observation brought his attention back to his guest.  
“Just as well. I’d be a rotten SEAL if I didn’t.” Magnum’s answer was soft.  
“I think there’s more to it than that.” Katsumoto’s mutter was almost drowned out by the rain, but Magnum let the comment pass. More surprising was the fact that Katsumoto had move to stand near him without Magnum noticing. Apparently, he trusted the detective more than he’d thought he did.  
“How did you get through it?” The question caught Magnum off-guard, and he struggled to hide the instinctive flinch. Sure, he liked Katsumoto, but they weren’t anywhere near sharing details of the Korengal. Not yet. He tipped his head in a question.  
“The training?” Katsumoto sounded genuinely curious. “I’ve read about Hell week, and all the other training. How?”  
“Oh, that.” Magnum dragged the word out slowly. “Well, look, most of it probably is as bad as you think. But, a lot of it is in your head.”  
He shook the rain off his hand and wiped his palm dry on his shirt.  
“The physical stuff is brutal, but you’ve got to be in good shape to even get into the course. What you need to do is find a reason not to quit. In your head, you find a reason to survive everything they can throw at you. A reason to stick it out.”  
“That actually makes sense.”  
“Me, I’m stubborn.” Magnum grinned. “Don’t say it.”  
Katsumoto mimed zipping his lips shut, although the smile did ruin the effect.  
“But aside from that, I had Nuzo. Sebastian Nuzo.”  
“Your friend. The one who was murdered for the gold. Tanaka mentioned him.”  
“We started our training together. We finished it together. And we were each other’s reason. We made a deal. We said we’d only ring out if the other guy rang out first.”  
Katsumoto nodded then.

“He was my Stanley Tak.”  
Katsumoto’s breath hitched, and he turned away.  
“I don’t know what you mean.” The words were harsh, the pain under them still raw.  
“You do.”  
“I don’t want to talk about this.”  
“But you need to.” Magnum was serious now. “I didn’t want to talk about Nuzo, either. But I needed to.”  
Katsumoto moved away, back to Magnum as he stared into the rain.

“Trust me on this.” Magnum’s words were soft, but insistent.  
“Trust you?”  
“I know we haven’t known each other long. And I get that you’re a guy who doesn’t trust easily.”  
Katsumoto seemed to be listening, and Magnum paused for a moment. The detective nodded for him to go on.  
“And I know that I’m probably going to screw up at some point, so badly that we’ll end up back where we were the day I met you.”  
Magnum stared at the floor for a moment, then sighed.  
“It won’t be my intention, but I do tend to get a little too … focused … sometimes.”  
“So that’s what you call it.” Katsumoto’s mutter was dry. Magnum let it slide, because the other man did have a point.  
“But right now, trust me when I saw that I do know how you feel. And bottling it up won’t help. I tried that for weeks after Nuzo died. All it got me was sleepless nights and any number of people waiting for me to crack.”  
“You didn’t.”  
“I did, actually.” Magnum was honest. “I fell apart, badly. Rick and TC spent a lot of time doing damage control.”  
“Damage control? I didn’t see any police reports…” Katsumoto sounded stunned.  
“Not that sort of damage. I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating. With me, that leads to … well … let’s just say it’s not a fun place to visit.” Those words got a reaction. “And you’re not eating or sleeping now, are you?”  
“It’ll pass.”  
“Maybe.” Magnum allowed. “But maybe there’s an easier way. Talk to someone. Don’t be as dumb as I was.”  
He saw the tension that moved into Katsumoto’s shoulders.  
“I’m not saying a professional.” The tension eased away.  
“Try friends. Not your colleagues, maybe.” Magnum waited until Katsumoto half-turned, a question on his face.  
“You’d think they’d be the best choice. But they didn’t know him like you did. They didn’t see him as a friend as well as a colleague. A partner.”  
“How did you know?” The pain was so clear, Magnum’s heart ached in sympathy.  
“The anger.”  
Katsumoto simply stared at him, his silence demanding an answer.  
“You were so angry. Angry enough to break your hand punching a tree.” Magnum indicated the still-injured hand with a flick of his fingers.  
“That’s how I was with Nuzo. You didn’t just want to find the person who murdered your friend – you wanted to make them suffer. You wanted them to hurt as much as you were hurting. Hurt more. And you wanted to be the one to serve justice on them.”  
The matter-of-fact tone was completely at odds with the words, and Katsumoto was nodding in agreement before Magnum finished speaking.  
“But who you are won’t let you be judge, jury and executioner. That’s just not who you are.” Magnum reached out then, laid a gentle hand on Katsumoto’s shoulder.

The contact was the final straw and Magnum saw the moment that Katsumoto’s composure failed him. The dark eyes filled with tears held back by nothing more than willpower. The detective bit his lip hard, trying to win back control. When he finally managed to speak, his voice was ravaged by grief.  
“I miss him more now than when he disappeared. I know it’s stupid, but without a body, I could hope that one day, somehow, he’d come back.”  
Katsumoto swiped one tear from his cheek, and carried on.  
“I could tell myself that he had a good reason for staying away, that …”  
Words failed him, and he closed his eyes as Magnum squeezed his shoulder in sympathy.  
“Now that I know he’s not coming back, I’m just … angry. You’re right.” The surprise was clear.  
“I’m angry. At Trevino for killing him, killing Vanessa.” Katsumoto heaved in a breath, and managed to get the last words out in a rush. “And I’m angry at Stanley.”  
“I know.” Magnum agreed. “I’m still angry at Nuzo.”  
“No-one gets it.” Katsumoto floundered for a moment.  
“I do. How dare Nuzo die? How dare he leave me with nothing but memories?” Magnum tugged the detective around to face him fully. “I owe Nuzo my life, just like you owe Stanley yours. Now you can’t ever repay the debt. And you want to know how he could just leave you behind.”  
“I don’t have a right to ask that question.”  
“You do. You loved him.” Magnum managed a tiny smile. “Don’t give me that look. Call it what you like, you loved him. Or you wouldn’t be so angry, so turned around. It wouldn’t hurt so bad if you didn’t love him.”  
“But it’s not his fault.”  
“No, it’s not. But we feel what we feel. And you feel alone, lost and abandoned.”

Another tear slipped down Katsumoto’s face and Magnum could feel a matching tear trail down his face as well. Even now, talking about Nuzo could make him cry.

“And you feel guilty, as well, for blaming him for leaving you.”  
“I do, yes.”  
“I can’t tell you that will go away. Or any of it.” Magnum met Katsumoto’s glance, shared misery reaching across the space between them. “But it does get better in time. A little easier to live with.”  
“I really hope you’re right.” The exhaustion and struggle bled through the words. “Because, right now, this is killing me.”

The pained honesty was too much to ignore and Magnum was pulling the detective back into the guest house before he’d even thought things through. He pushed the man towards the couch and went to find the package he’d collected before heading to HPD that morning.

He didn’t know if Katsumoto would thank him for what he’d done, or whether he’d be on the receiving end of the anger still looking for a target. Still, Magnum was willing to take anything the other man needed to dish out. He was strong enough to understand the reasons, and not take the abuse personally.

He dropped onto the seat next to the detective and put the parcel on his lap.  
“That’s for you.”  
“What is it?”  
“Open it and find out.”  
Paper shredded, revealing the back of a picture frame. Katsumoto turned it over and found himself looking at the photograph of himself and Stanley Tak, laughing over a meal at Zippy’s.  
“How?”  
“I went out to see Stanley’s widow this morning. She told me you’d taken all the case files and boxes back to the garage. I asked her if I could borrow the photo and get a copy made for you.”  
Katsumoto ran a finger over the image, lingering near Stanley’s smiling face.  
“She was kind enough to tell me to take it and give it to you. I thought maybe … you could put it on your bookshelf, next to that picture of your son. If you want.”  
The silence deepened. Magnum wanted to speak, but something told him to wait. Then a sigh and a sniff broke the silence.  
“Thank you. Just … thank you, Thomas.”  
“You’re welcome, Gordon.”

Magnum stared outside again, giving Katsumoto the time he needed to get his composure back. The storm had blown itself out quickly, and sunlight was breaking through the fast-dissipating clouds, showering the estate with slivers and shards of brilliant light. Magnum revelled in the brightness, something he never seemed to be able to get enough of since Afghanistan. Eventually he tore his eyes from the sight to glance back at Katsumoto.

The frame rested on Katsumoto’s lap, while the detective contemplated the image. A frozen moment of time, of happiness. A smile slowly crept onto Katsumoto’s face, and Magnum let himself relax. It seemed as though he’d made the right guesses this morning, and somehow managed to choose the one thing that would help the other man find a way through his pain and loss. He’d gambled and won. Not something that happened very often for him. So while he was on a roll, why not take another chance?

“Anytime you want some peace and quiet,” Magnum said quietly, “you know you’re welcome to drop by.”  
“You and Higgins are more alike than you know.” Katsumoto smiled. “She said pretty much the same thing a few weeks back.”  
“That’s actually … scary. Maybe even terrifying.” Magnum only half-faked the shudder, playing it for laughs to lighten the mood. Pleased that he managed to get a genuine smile from the detective.

Katsumoto’s mood turned serious again. He tapped the photograph gently.  
“Everything in life has a price, Magnum. I know that you know this.”  
Magnum nodded warily, unsure of where this was going.  
“So, what’s the price for this?”  
“Nothing!” Magnum wanted to be shocked and insulted. But his own experiences had taught him the same lessons that Katsumoto had obviously learned in his time at the HPD. He couldn’t blame the man for asking the same question he would have asked. But that same experience forced him to tell the truth.  
“Nothing you don’t want to pay.”  
Katsumoto’s eyes filled with resignation at that, only to light up with stunned surprise when Magnum went on earnestly.  
“Tell me about him? If you don’t mind.” Sincerity filled the request. “He must have been a great guy.”  
“He was.” Katsumoto looked at the photograph again, gathered his thoughts and started to talk.  
“This was a good day. We’d just closed this big case …”


End file.
